Predictions 2014

Well, it is time for me to go intrepidly where angels fear to tread. My predictions for 2014.

1. Elections 2014-The Republicans will gain 10-15 seats in the House and the GOP will take the Senate with at least a two seat advantage.

2. Our fowl President-Obama’s lame duck status will be confirmed time and time again next year, with even Democrats in Congress considering him to be a spent force.

3. ObamaCare Code Blue-ObamaCare will become an ever increasing debacle. Legislation will be passed by June to largely gut ObamaCare which the President will veto. The Republicans will be able to win an override vote in the House, but fail to do so in the Senate.

4. Asia War-A high possibility of a naval or air clash between Japan and China. I doubt if it would spiral out of control, but the old power relationships that maintained the peace since World War II are weakening around the globe, especially in Asia.

5. Pope Francis and the Left-The bloom will be off the rose on the love affair that the left has with the Pontiff next year. It will increasingly dawn on them that the Pope has no power over economies and that on social issues the teaching of the Church will not change.

6. Cubs Win the World Series!-In some kinder, gentler alternate reality. In our reality they will stretch their losing streak to 106 years.

7. Major Terrorist Strike at Moscow Olympics-Too juicy a target for major terrorist organizations. Probably will be spearheaded by Chechens.

8. Ted Cruz–Senator Cruz will emerge from the 2014 elections as the front runner for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

9. Conversion-The atheist world will be shaken by a high profile conversion to Christianity by a famous atheist.

10. Wrong Again Don!-McClarey will be wrong in some of his predictions!

Donald R. McClarey

Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three and happily married for 35 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.

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35 Comments

Volgograd was hit for the 3rd time in a week this morning. That could be a sign that the terrorists know that striking at the Olympics will prove too difficult, so they are hitting at ‘soft’ targets in advance hoping to project the appearance of strength without actually possessing real strength. The Olympics start early February, so we will not need to wait long to find out if you are right.

#5 is interesting. Of course, we want the Left, the Right, the Center and everyone else to respect and admire the pope. I know what you are talking about with the Left, though. They don’t respect him or Catholic theology, but are hopeful that he aligns well with their social agenda, and I hope they will be disappointed.

#3 – Within the next few months we’ll be treated to a series of think pieces & round-table discussions about how the press unfairly piled on in their criticism of Obamacare.

#4 – Make it “between Japan, China, N and/or S Korea” and I’d give you an 80% chance of being right.

#5 – I’ve said it before, Pope Francis will lose his popularity in the press a week after Benedict passes away. Until then, Francis provides the press with a means to take indirect shots at his most immediate predecessor.

Well, we know #6 won’t come true – I hope that’s the only one you got wrong.

I was surprised to see that Matt Drudge said that in 2013, he discovered the power of prayer, something he hadn’t even known he needed. No, that’s not a conversion that is shaking the atheist world, but it was nice to read anyway.

Oh, wait – I said I hoped #6 was the only one Don got wrong. Let me rephrase that – that’s the only one I know he got wrong. Believe me, I’m not hoping for terrorist attacks and a war in Asia.

My Obamacare prediction: many people will suffer and some will die because of it. The media will try to hide the extent of the suffering from us because they still believe in his leftist blueprint for the country.

Here’s another prediction: a gay couple will declare it to be their “right” to be married in a Catholic ceremony and will sue the Church. If it doesn’t happen in 2014, it’ll happen in 2015.

“Elections 2014-The Republicans will gain 10-15 seats in the House and the GOP will take the Senate with at least a two seat advantage.”

you are underestimating the ability of Tea Party candidates to pointlessly destroy Republican opponents with whom they have no practical ideological difference. Though, maybe the dread establishment has a better handle on that this time.

“[N]o practical ideological difference?” We Tea (backronym:Taxed Enough Already) Partiers are the center of the Right, while the Establishment is center-right,at best,and out-and-out leftist at worst-look at Speaker Boehner and Senate Republican Leader McConnell!

the same Mitch McConnell who’s had his party bloc vote against every Obama initiative? This whole notion that McConnell and Bohener are RINOs, except maybe on immigration, is bizarre. They’re not exactly inspiring figures but they vote conservative down the line.

this is not to mention that where certain Tea Party politicians do noticeably differ with other Republicans (Rand Paul, Ted Cruz,) it’s in a negative way.

you are underestimating the ability of Tea Party candidates to pointlessly destroy Republican opponents with whom they have no practical ideological difference.

There have been 36 federal midterm elections since Reconstruction and in them the President’s party has gained seats in the House of Representatives precisely twice. The economic circumstances attending the first of these will not obtain in 2014 and those attending the 2d will obtain only if the most optimistic projections come to pass.

I am not sure how you come to the conclusion that there is ‘no practical ideological difference’ between the Tea Party and the K-street nexus. Given time you will get better at this.

Government dependence is sky-rocketing in the so-called “economic recovery.” It’s a clear signal that the middle class is dying.

There are 4 million Americans who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, the highest long-term unemployment rate since World War II. Close to 50 million Americans live in poverty and more than 100 million people get money from the federal government each month. The middle class is disintegrating as poverty ises to unprecedented levels. Extended unemployment benefits just ended for 1.3 million, and altogether 5 million unemployed Americans will lose benefits by the end of 2014. In addition, 47 million Americans had their food stamp benefits reduced. Approximately 6 million Americans ages 16 to 24-years are not in school and not working.

And, they will vote for more of the same.

Here’s what Roger Simon sees after they elect Hillary Clinton prez in 2016.

“ . . .some version of Western Europe or, yet more frighteningly, China, a permanently stratified state capitalism governed by quasi-totalitarian bureaucrats. (We can call this system Soros Marxism, meaning a ruling clique of increasingly rich corporate czars employing a propagandistic veneer of socialist equality to keep the power and wealth for themselves.)”

Cruz is extremely ideological and way too self-assured, the first one isn’t necessarily a bad thing but he insists on doing certain things that backfire on the party as a whole. Paul I just disagree with his general philosophy/libertarianism in general, although he’s a little more interesting.

Art Deco is like the encyclopedia of useless political knowledge. I didn’t say anything about the House flipping

“but he insists on doing certain things that backfire on the party as a whole.”
Nope, he insists on doing principled things you disagree with. Parties must stand for things if they are going to succeed, and Cruz understands that one of things that the Republican party must stand for is fiscal sanity, something that the Democrats, and far too many Republican RINOs, long ago bid farewell to.

“Art Deco is like the encyclopedia of useless political knowledge.”

No, Art brings a depth of knowledge to all his comments that is greatly appreciated by me, even when I, rarely, disagree with him. In this case he clearly understands the deck stacked against the Democrats historically in the second mid term of a two term President of their party, especially a President whose popularity currently only surpasses that of Nixon in post war second terms.

J.I., I humbly suggest that you quit reading mainstream news pieces about the Tea Party. McConnell and Boehner are typical inside the beltway RINOS – afraid to directly confront the Commucrat Party about any spending or the growth of government.

A few of my own predictions:
Several old celebrities (actors, has been rock stars) will die in 2014.
NFL officiating will continue to stink.
The Cleveland Browns will continue in their quest to be the NFL’s version of the Chicago Cubs.
The lame-stream media will ignore the March for Life.
Obumbler and his wife, the “nutritionist” with hips as wide as Nebraska, will take expensive vacations.
The weather will be unusually cold in some places and unusually warm in others, prompting more warnings of “climate change”.
MSNBC will continue to smear Sarah Palin. Palin will continue to ignore them.
No budget will be passed by Congress.
Saturation advertising in 2014:
1. Weight loss
2. Valentine’s Day diamonds and chocolates.
2a. Super Bowl ads…..since the Pittsburgh Steelers will not be playing, I will ignore the Super Bowl and all of its expensive ads.
3. President’s Day car sales.
4. Primary political ads.
5. Back to school ads starting before July 4, reaching saturation point in August. These ads will include power tools, cars, tires, and other things having nothing to do with school.
6. Halloween displays beginning immediately after Labor Day.
7. Black Friday advertising drowning out Thanksgiving and ushering in the start of American Holiday Shopping Season. This was once known as Advent.
8. Saturation car advertising with snow, ribbons, bows and fake “holiday” music at the end of the year.

Happy New year, everyone. May it be better than the old one….though I suspect real improvement will not begin until my son’s ninth birthday on January 20, 2017.

If you were not referring to that, your comment in reply to his predictions re the composition of Congress doesn’t have much point.

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Cruz is extremely ideological and way too self-assured, the first one isn’t necessarily a bad thing but he insists on doing certain things that backfire on the party as a whole

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?. Personally, I would stay away from gaming the effects of parliamentary squabbling. They’re ephemeral, their effects are unpredictable when they are not ephemeral, and they are not very interesting to discuss.

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That aside, what’s your alternative? The most charitable explanation for some of Boehner’s recent behavior (re immigration ‘reform’) is that it’s some sort of p.r. bank shot. The uncharitable explanation is that he’s angling for a slot at Haley Barbour’s lobbying firm when he retires from Congress. The depressing business is that nothing about the background of the various other Republican caucus sachems – Cantor, McCarthy, Rodgers, McConnell, Thune, or Reince Priebus while we are at it – would lead you to wager they would be less inclined to truckle to crony capitalism than Boehner (and while we are at it, can you explain how career public official McConnell came by an eight-digit net worth?).

Home Depot’s Ken Langone’s vinegary veiled threat to the Church (re: possible major loss of rich donors) will only leave him settling for eating crow and having to eat his salad doused with his own vinegar by the time the fuller picture of his economic views gets circulated around parishes. I admire what Langone has done with Home Depot, and it’s not at all likely he’ll face a “boycott” threat packing any credibility. Even liberal Catholics know that. Some of them are building contractors, carpenters, artists, etc. and they’re not going to put their hand in one moving table saw to make any “statement.” Except a very stupid one. On the other hand, these same contractors and individual crafting artists who look at HD’s “nearest competitor” and yet remain loyal, can’t help feeling some disgust at this one-percenter’s contemptuous remarks thrown at Francis who deserves his well earned popularity for sticking up for the vast number of people who earn their living, unlike the hedge funders who manipulate the market for themselves and an even smaller crowd of economic elites. Heck, let those guys can go buy lawn hedgers and try working for a living. Pope Francis W, Ken Langone, L.

1. Kathleen Sebelius will “take one for the team” over Obamacare.
2. Pope Francis (or the CDF) will be forced to excommunicate a bishop.
3. Accusations will surface that the Obama administration has been rooting through NSA data for dirt on their political opponents. The Justice Department will refuse to investigate.
4. Violence in Egypt will continue to increase and become the dominant threat to Mideast stability by late summer.
5. An act of terrorism in the Mideast will provoke an American retaliation less than a month before the November elections.
6. Evangelicals will be shocked when a prominent pastor jumps ship and promotes “gay marriage”.

I limit my 2014 prediction to one of mere cleromancy. There may be a toss of the dice possibility that the “Middle Class” will awaken to the realization that they are being predictively destroyed by the inexorable machinations of a Marxist machine.
Karl Marx predicted that the petite bourgeoisie were to lose in the course of economic development. Who is hated more by the hard left than those of us holding to middle class values such as God, Family and Country? These stand in the way of the statist ambition to enshrine government in place of God who puts before us life and death and allows us to choose.

Penguins Fan, I don’t believe “mainstream news sources” about the Tea Party, I just know that the Republican Party leadership is conservative on almost everything, as you would expect from people representing a conservative party. The notion that they’re RINOs/Rockefeller types only works if your definition of conservatism depends on the amount of firebreathing rhetoric used, or drastically cutting spending in unrealistic amounts.

this means nothing about how inspiring they are as leaders of course, or how many of their positions are held out of sincere ideology as opposed to bland partisan politics, but that doesn’t necessarily matter.

Penguins Fan, I don’t believe “mainstream news sources” about the Tea Party, I just know that the Republican Party leadership is conservative on almost everything, as you would expect from people representing a conservative party. The notion that they’re RINOs/Rockefeller types only works if your definition of conservatism depends on the amount of firebreathing rhetoric used, or drastically cutting spending in unrealistic amounts.

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Much of the RINO discourse is stupid and there have been no Rockefeller Republicans in Congress since 1992. However, that’s not the distinction your interlocutors are making reference to here in slicing up the Republican caucus leadership.

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The signature of the Democratic Party is constructing patron-client relationships and promoting rent-seeking which provides a function for pols as brokers. It has been so pervasive since 1932 that academic political science back in the day defined politics as “the authoritative allocation of values”. Dr. Zummo may wish to elaborate on this. The scale and mode of construction changed after 1932, but the basic pattern was established decades earlier. The Republican Party swims in this dirty pond as well, but this is an aspect of Republican governance, not the whole enchilada. One question that the Tea party has raised (in its haphazard and slipping-clutch way) is whether the Republican Party in Washington just swaps out one set of clients for another set or whether it actually breaks out the sandblaster and the power wash and gets to work. Another question is whether it articulates its program with verve and self-confidence, or whether it lets the Democratic Party press agents (employed on congressional staffs and in newsrooms and in the Sorosphere) to set the terms of discourse.

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The problem with the Tea party is not that they are ‘extreme’, but that they only work at one level of discourse. They are an expression of the starboard culture of complaint. It is difficult to get Tea partisans to focus on desirable policy adjustments (or they come up with crankish complaints about whatever anyone offers as an improvement). What you need now is some sort of auxilliary to the Tea party which can produce a programme of government. The efforts of policy shops like Heritage are too fragmented.

the GOP is probably not so self-confident about their agenda because they’ve failed to push back against continual liberal allegations that their non-economic views are held out of various forms of bigotry. Democrats are decent at framing different components of their agenda as “equal rights” while Republicans fail to articulate their vision in a meaningful way.

Ah yes Art, the ever emerging Democrat Majority. Leftists have predicting the inevitable collapse of the GOP due to demographic factors for about 20 years now. While their arguments are not without merit, they overrate the value of the notion of demographic destiny.

“What you need now is some sort of auxilliary to the Tea party which can produce a programme of government. The efforts of policy shops like Heritage are too fragmented.”
The first Tea Party produced a program of government which contains all peoples’ human rights. Our founding principles inscribed in our Declaration of independence, our Constitution for the United States of America and its Bill of Rights are the finest definition of man’s unalienable sovereign rights on the face of the earth. Our founding principles are based on Judeo-Christian principles found in the Holy Bible (correct translation). Secular humanism and atheism excoriates any person who dares to speak the truth to power. Atheism decimates the will to freedom and denies the sovereignty of the human being by denying the rational, immortal human soul and the Creator who creates the human soul and the God who endows unalienable human civil rights.

Any connection between beautiful New England and predicted disasters?
Take same-sex marriage. I would have guessed that a “sin” city (San Francisco? Las Vegas?) would have been the first to legalize it.
Oddly it’s been America’s birthplace that’s wanted to be the first place to end America and its values! It’s been a Nor’easter of Perversion (helping to fulfill Luke 17’s “days of Lot”) that began in (you guessed it) Boston in 2004!
New England has gone from the Mayflower Compact to the Gay Power Impact, from Providence to decadence, from Bible thumpers to God dumpers, from university to diversity to perversity, and from the land of the Great Awakening to God’s Future Shakening that’ll make the Boston bombings look like Walden Pond ripples by comparison!
The same Nor’easter has been spreading south and as far west as Washington State where, after swelling up with pride, Mt. Rainier may wish to celebrate shame-sex marriage by having a blast that Seaddlepated folks can share in lava-land!
The same Luke 17 prediction is tied to the Book of Revelation which speaks of the cities that God will flatten because of same-sexism – including American cities – a scenario I’ll have to accept since I can’t create my own universe and decree rules for it.
I’ve just been analyzing the world’s terminal “religion” that has its “god,” its accessories, its “rites,” and even a flag. It’s an obsession that the infected converts are willing to live for, fight for – and even die for!
Some claim that Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. Well, when gays have birthdays they don’t say what they don’t want but say positively what they do want.
Likewise Jesus didn’t get negative and mention every sexual variation that He knew mankind would invent, but stated positively that marriage involves only a man and a woman!
Want more facts? Google “God to Same-Sexers: Hurry Up,” “Government-Approved Illegals,” “FOR GAYS ONLY: Jesus predicted,” “Filthy Still Club (Rev. 22:11),” and “The Background Obama Can’t Cover Up.”

“Kathleen Sebelius will “take one for the team” over Obamacare.” Kathleen Sebelius earned every mark down she gets and then some. She is no hero. What bothers me is that no one on the Obama team seems to know who We, the people, their constituents, are. They are like blind moles digging a grave for our country.